Which is better the eclipse 5030 or the kenwood kdc-x692, only thing i know is the eclipse has 5v preouts and the kenwood has 4v.

 

Is this your first head unit or you're planning on upgrading you're entire system with this? Reason I ask is that some people like units that are easy to use and blend with everything, while others like units that have very percise benefits over another (such as you mentioning how one has 5v preouts vs. 4v) ...

I'd play the 2 units or see what the differences are ...
I don't know about those 2 units you're quoting but I played around with Kenwood, liked it, bought it and it's probably been my best purchase to date.

 

Two completely different units. The Kenwood is a 2 year old model now and has does not have bluetooth onboard or ipod cables included. The Eclipse has the 5 volt 55 ohm non clipping preouts, has advanced A2DP bluetooth on board and USB. This Eclipse dealer is also throwing in the IPOD cable with it. It also carries a 3 year warranty when purchased from me.

 

You are not going to notice a difference at all between 4 and 5v preouts. This is what the gain control on your amps are for. Might need to be a little higher with 4v. Both are very good decks and companies, so I doubt you will notice much difference in SQ either. Ultimately it will come down to which has the features ( T/A, X-overs, etc) you want / need. Then comes which looks better, compliments the theme of the car, matches the dash lights, etc. I have owned several Kenwood's and never heard any Eclipse so I will say that I have heard very good things about Eclipse. Have had very good experience with Kenwood. I have the X-991 and absolutely love it.

 

I remember siting in yor car in hamilton, listening to pink floyd. We first listened for a min and than you pushed a few buttons and suddenly the sound from the components raised up to ear level, what exactly is that called ? and what is active ? i hear people talk about it all the time " going active"

 

if i am not mistaken that would be the sound stage.. don't know much about it though as i am still new to this whole thing and still have ALOT to learn.. haha

 

That is the "WOW HD" all of the higher end Kenwoods come with it. Active is referring to the X-overs versus passive. Component sets come with the passive X-overs. Active is using a processor etc to do the x-overs.

 

And to further clarify it, once the sound has been divided up by the processing into frequency bands that are tailored to each driver, those signals are each amplified separately for each speaker. The advantage is that each band can be modified to compensate for uneven frequency response due to various factors. Some passive cross-overs come with multiple tweeter hook-ups that vary the relative level of the tweeter to the mid driver, but thats it.......

I'm curious about the decks tho, the KW is a couple of years old, are you getting it BNIB or is it used??

A fairer comparison would be the KW KDC-X693 and the Eclipse CD5030....

I have been impressed with the reliability of the Kenwood decks....over the years I have owned 5 or 6 of them both in my work truck and the family grocery-gitter.... I have them on in my work truck 60 hours or so a week and I get 4 or 5 years out of them......that's a lot of hours and very few problems with them.

You will not be able to hear a difference in the SQ when you play your music.....the choice really comes down to features and looks....

HTH

 

693 still has no onboard bluetooth... step up to the 993.... Given that Pntario has a handsfree cell phone law now in effect, he would be best to either purchase a separate handsfree device (if not already) and go with the 693 or step up to the 993 or the Eclipse CD5030. Any of these cd players will do a stellar job for you.

 

I currently own the 693 snd was thinking of getting something better, I really liked the sound of the 993 and the feature thats makes the sound raise is amazing. Any idea what the 993 goes for ?, also thanks for the great info